Most of the time, comparing printed song lyrics with poems is like comparing recipes with food: that’s to say, patently unfair. Poems, unlike songs, are written to be read, and thus come equipped with their own rhythms and melodies; they’re self-contained entities, the whole shebang. Songs, in contrast, are written to be sung, and what the singing voice can do to words is akin to what a cook can do to raw ingredients: season, char, simmer, sauce, etc. A banal poem is never more... Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

The best writers are often great readers. Take Harper Lee. In the 1930s, Lee’s older brother gave her two books, The Gray Ghost and Stoner’s Boy by Robert F. Schulkers. Part of a series called Seckatary Hawkins, the books later inspired themes in the Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird. This fall, the University Press of Kentucky re-released the very books that moved Lee eighty years ago. Complete with illustrations and sporting new cover art... Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

Whether you’re looking for an epic novel, a fast-paced legal thriller, or a cookbook that combines equal parts food and humor, make room on your fall reading list for these titles. Here’s our roundup of newly released best bets from authors we’ve featured in the pages of Garden & Gun.

Though Eudora Welty’s education and career took her all over the country, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author maintained a residence within her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, until the day she died. That love of place influenced the celebrated Southerner’s every written word—as well as a three-part lecture series on her literary beginnings she gave at Harvard University in 1983.

A dog-eared copy of the local Junior League cookbook has long been a staple in Southern kitchens, and the reigning queen of League spiral-bounds is Charleston Receipts. First published in 1950 and chock full of Holy City classics such as benne seed wafers and Lady Baltimore Cake, it’s the oldest Junior League cookbook still in print. But a year before the now famous green-and-white tome came a little-known precursor that was the stuff of local legend. Even the South... Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

CREDIT: Darren Braun

“In the South, pimento cheese is a little bit like barbecue: everyone swears theirs is the best” is how Ashley Christensen, the chef-owner of Poole’s Downtown Diner in Raleigh and the proprietor of five other Raleigh restaurants, slides into her pimento cheese recipe in Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

If Dave Barry didn’t live in Florida, he might live in Idaho. Why? “Number one, it’s beautiful,” he says. “Number two, nobody goes there. Three, the license plates say ‘Famous Potatoes.’” But fortunately for his fans, Dave Barry doesn’t live in Idaho. He’s spent a career poking loving fun at Florida, that most curious Southern state he calls... Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

It all started, as many things do in the South, with church. As an adult, Virginia author Margot Lee Shetterly learned that one of her favorite childhood Sunday school teachers at First Baptist Church in Hampton, Virginia, was a retired NASA mathematician—no small feat in midcentury America. That discovery set Shetterly on a path that led to her highly anticipated new book, Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

CREDIT: Illustration by Tim Bower

Even when the late writer Pat Conroy saw a line snaking out the door at one of his book signings, he’d still make time to listen to the stories of each and every fan and aspiring author. After his funeral in March, his wife, his agent, and the mayor of his beloved hometown of Beaufort began discussing ways to honor that generosity. A plaque? A larger-than-life sculpture? “Pat was not a statue guy,” says his wife, the author Cassandra King. “He was... Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

CREDIT: Johnny Autry

“I love Chicken Bog because it’s one of those very regional recipes that has survived for generations in just a few specific places. In the case of Chicken Bog, the recipe comes from the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. It’s a gumbolike dish that combines homemade chicken stock and sausage with rice and peas. If you’ve ever been to Charleston, you might have tried a similar dish under the name ‘purloo’ or ‘chicken rice.’

In Jack Kerouac’s 1958 novel the Dharma Bums, the narrator gets some advice from his companion, Japhy Ryder, while hiking in the California mountains. “Try the meditation of the trail,” says Japhy, whom Kerouac based on the Beat poet Gary Snyder. “Just walk along looking at the trail at your feet and don’t look about and just fall into a trance as the ground zips by.”

“The secret to this rich, indulgent stew is only partially in the cream. Oysters are pureed into the base, which connects their briny salinity to the rest of the ingredients and naturally thickens the soup. It builds an undeniably oystery backbone. The turnips provide a sharp, wasabi-like heat that brings the luxurious richness of the soup back into balance. I’ve always loved the oyster crackers that come alongside a bowl of chowder. The fried saltines operate along the same... Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

CREDIT: Johnny Autry

“Macaroni au gratin is, of course, a fancy name for mac and cheese. In this case though, it really is so much more than your run-of-the-mill mac. This dish is one of our most beloved offerings, and this year we are on track to sell nearly fifteen thousand orders. Yes, our macaroni au gratin has some serious fans. It is unequivocally our most ordered dish.

“I can think of no better tribute to my mother than sharing her favorite carrot cake recipe. And because my mother enjoyed using the best of her masala dhabba, or spice tin, this carrot cake surprises both your eyes and your taste buds. The cream cheese icing retains its ivory hue, but it’s flecked with cracked black peppercorns. And while the consistency of the cake will be familiar, a closer look at the moist crumbs reveals tiny hints of cardamom and clove. Since my... Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>

CREDIT: Evan Sung

“When it comes to boiled peanuts, it doesn’t matter which of my two Souths I look to for recipes because in either place they are consumed with passionate zeal. The only difference lies in the name: in India, peanuts are called groundnuts. This legume is an essential crop in India and is grown extensively as an oil crop. But, like in the US, peanuts are boiled, roasted, ground, and stir-fried. Any raw peanut is good for boiling. Not all peanuts sold in grocery stores are... Read more on GardenAndGun.com]]>